REST! IT DOES A BODY, AND A SOUL, GOOD!

We were created with a need for physical and spiritual rest. Our bodies, and everything else in our lives, can suffer some pretty serious consequences when we don’t get proper rest.

Several years ago, after over two months of averaging only 2 to 2 ½ hours of sleep each night because of a very intense and full ministry schedule (and ridiculous stupidity on my part), I actually fell asleep while standing up, and broke my nose on the window frame on the way down!

Some people get a “Wake up call.” I got a very strong, and a pretty painful, “Go to sleep call!” Which I have seriously heeded since that day. Many thanks go to some very loving and wise “watch-dog” people in my life.

How much more serious the consequences are for us when we do not rest our souls in God!

Everything breaks, not just our noses! Our peace, our hope, our perspective, our courage, our kindness, our patience, our joy, our love. Giving ourselves over to soul rest acknowledges our need for God to be our strength and our salvation. Our God who loves us and watches over us every moment of every day and every night continually offers His rest to all who come to Him.

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” – Isaiah 30:15

Ignoring our God-created need to rest our bodies and our souls as we keep pushing ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally is really ignoring God. Ignoring God’s love for us. Ignoring God’s wisdom in giving us the need – and the gift – to quiet ourselves, quiet our thinking and quiet our activities. Ignoring God is body and soul damaging and depleting in every possible way. We each need to embrace and be refreshed by our God’s holy rest, our God’s holy Sabbath, for our bodies and our souls.

May we each choose to yield to our God’s loving wisdom in creating us with a need to rest. May we choose to slow down, breathe more deeply and allow God to hold, restore, renew and refresh us – giving us deep rest for our bodies and souls. Take time for Sabbath moments each day with the Lord. Take a Sabbath day each week. Take extended times of Sabbath as often as you are able. We will come out of those Sabbath moments, days and times more in tune with our Loving God, with ourselves and more loving towards all those around us.